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COAT OF ARMS

The history of the state coat of arms begins with the Crnojevics dynasty in 15th century. Their family arms - golden crowned two-headed eagle on the red background - laid the foundation of the Montenegrin state heraldry: the two-headed eagle became the standard symbol of the state. After gaining the power, the Petrovic-Njegos dynasty took the golden two-headed eagle as the state symbol. Vladika Danilo charged on its breast the Great Arms of the Petrovic-Njegos family (shield, crown, mantling), while his successor vladika Sava made major changes to the coat of arms: removed the family Great Arms from the eagle's breast, and added the scepter and saru ("the imperial egg") in its claws. He also added another symbol retained until present day - the golden lion passant - below the golden eagle. With Petar I, further rearrangement of the coat of arms took place: from the eagle he removed the royal insignia and charged on the eagle's breast the Middle Arms of the Petrovic-Njegoss (the shield with the crown) while leaving the lion passant.

Prince Danilo also reorganized the Coat of Arms: he charged on the golden eagle's breast the shield where on the blue background the golden lion passant was on green ground. In one claw the eagle held the saru, and in the other a sword and the scepter.

In the time of prince then king Nikola, the sword was removed and later, in conformity with the Constitution of 1905, the color of the eagle was changed from golden to silver as well as the of the background of the shield with the lion - to red instead of blue.

The Constitution of 1993 maintained "the tradition" of king Nikola: the adopted Coat of Arms was a crowned silver eagle with the sara in one and the scepter in the other claw, and charged on its breast was a red shield with the lion passant.

FLAG

Flags as the state symbols were introduced only in the time of Petar II Petrovic-Njegos.  Before him, the principal Montenegrin flag had been the alaj-barjak (regimental colors) with a single symbol on it - the cross (krst).  The Montenegrins gathered around krstas either at meetings or before battles. The first written description of the Montenegrin flag dates from the time of Scepan Mali (the Imposter): white, with a red frame and a golden cross on top of the spear. The next comes form 1838: pale-yellow with the small red cross, and in 1876 the flag was described as being red with the white cross. In the time of Prince Danilo, the cross on the alaj-barjak was replaced by the two-headed eagle with the initials DI (Danilo I) on its breast, with the lion passant underneath. Prince/King Nikola made many different flags in his time. The first of the variations was the same as Danilo's, differing only in the initials - NI (Nikola I). Around 1910, two new variants appeared: one tricolor (red, blue and white) with the two-headed eagle bearing 

the initials NI on its breast and the lion passant on the sinister, the other with the two-headed eagle above the initials NI.

The state flag proclaimed in 1993 is the tricolor - red, light blue and white.

 

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